500 Years of the Powerful and Seductive Mistresses of Château de Chenonceau

A series of remarkable women occupied this Loire Valley landmark known as “The Ladies’ Château”

Château de Chenonceau in France’s Loire Valley (via Wikipedia Commons)

On the banks of France’s fabled Loire river, Château Chenonceau has housed and hosted an astonishing number of famous and infamous people. France’s King Henry II gifted it to his elegant mistress Diane de Poitiers in 1547, and it has since become known as the “Ladies’ Château.” So named because, throughout its long history, it has been occupied and developed by an extraordinary series of female owners. Here are their stories.

Portrait of Diane de Poitiers, artist unknown, circa 1590 (public domain)

Diane de Poitiers 1499–1566

The term “king’s mistress” doesn’t begin to describe the role that Diane de Poitiers played in history. She was much more than just a pretty face and was the most powerful woman in France during Henry II’s reign.

Born into a French noble family, Diane was married at age 15 to Count Louis de Brézé, Sénéchal of Normandy. Intelligent and well-educated, Diane made the most of her husband’s influence at court.